How to determine if a pumpkin is ripe. When does a pumpkin ripen and what does it depend on. External signs of pumpkin maturity will tell you when to harvest it.

How not to make a mistake and choose perfect time for harvesting pumpkins - so that the harvest is both tasty and ripe, and stored longer? In fact, there is nothing complicated: to determine when to harvest a pumpkin, you need to know a few rules. This is our article today.

Just like most other fruit-bearing plants, pumpkins are divided into three types: early-ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties. Certainly, optimal time harvest is mainly determined by which variety you have planted.

early maturing

It takes about 3.5 months for full ripening of early ripening varieties: due to various factors, this period can vary from 94 to 104 days. Harvesting of such varieties is recommended in August (from the second half to the end). They are distinguished by a thin shell and tenderness. After harvest, these varieties are stored for about a month.

mid-ripening

Mid-season varieties require approximately 4 months to mature (from 110 to 120 days). In this case, it is better to start picking pumpkins from mid-September, and you need to be in time before frost - otherwise, this will worsen the keeping quality, the crop can quickly begin to rot. In general, such varieties are stored longer than early ripe ones.

late ripening

Late-ripening (or, as they are also called, hard-core) varieties reach maturity in about 200 days, but, like mid-ripening ones, they should be harvested before frost, that is, approximately in mid-late September. It turns out that unripe fruits have to be harvested, but there is nothing to worry about - they are able to ripen even in a plucked state: depending on the collection period, this will take from 20 to 60 days; at proper storage they will continue to gain sweetness and nutrients. Most often they are distinguished by tasty pulp and pleasant aroma. Often they can even be eaten raw. Have saturated color. You can store these varieties for up to six months.

How to determine the ripeness of the fruit

There are characteristic signs that can easily help you determine the ripeness of the fruit.

First, on the plant, part of the leaves should be faded, yellowed and withered; there should be dry areas and on the wattle fence. Secondly, the stalk should not have green and juicy areas, it should be hard and completely dry. A ripe pumpkin is distinguished by a bright saturated color: yellow, orange or gray-greenish, depending on the species. Here, of course, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the variety: some even with full ripeness remain white or gray. Finally, the skin of the pumpkin should become firm and fairly tough, making a hollow sound when tapped.

Most often, collection dates are written on bags of seeds, which also makes the task easier; however, due to the weather, this value may fluctuate slightly.

When and how to clean

Picking pumpkins is best done in dry weather, without frost; if the weather is rainy, the fruits will need to be dried properly. For large fields, it is better, of course, to use a pumpkin harvester; if you do your own picking, please note that the fruits must be cut together with a 4–5 cm stalk. If the pumpkin is cut without a stalk, bacteria will enter it, it will quickly rot and may infect other fruits. Need to cut sharp knife or secateurs, without crushing the tail, and do not break off with your hands. Pumpkins cannot be dropped - internal decay can begin from blows.

All pumpkins intended for storage must be intact, without dents or scratches. It is better to send damaged fruits for processing, making them pumpkin juice, dried or allowed for conservation.

Video “Pumpkin storage”

This video will show you how to properly store pumpkins.

Pumpkin is melon unpretentious culture rich in vitamins and minerals. It contains much more carotene than carrots. It is grown almost everywhere. Among gardeners, pumpkin is valued for its ability to maintain its taste throughout the entire shelf life. In order for it not to lose its nutrients, the pumpkin must be removed from the garden in time. A frozen vegetable is poorly stored, and when good conditions lasts all winter and does not deteriorate.

Harvesting different types of pumpkin

Pumpkin is a rather cold-resistant crop, so it is removed from the garden at the very last. When and how to do it right? Today, gardeners grow many varieties of this vegetable, which differ in ripening time. The ripeness of the crop also depends on weather conditions. When to clean early varieties pumpkins from the garden, and when late-ripening - this question is asked not only by beginners.

Early ripe pumpkins are ready for harvesting after 120 days from germination. Such a vegetable is not very rich in carotene, its pulp is fibrous, but the seeds are very useful. Harvesting starts from the second half of August. In September, the entire crop should be harvested. The vegetable is stored for a relatively short time.

Mid-season varieties can be harvested after 130 days from germination. These varieties are mostly large-fruited, rich in vitamins and store well. However, you don't have to worry about cleaning up. In the conditions of the Moscow region, the pumpkin is harvested already in September, leaving it in a dry room for 30 days to ripen.

Muscat late-ripening varieties are harvested the very last, after about 150 days from germination. In the south of the country, they ripen well on lashes, but in other regions they start harvesting 2 months before frost. Fruits are stored for 5 months.

Important! If the harvesting of the vegetable was late, and it fell under frost, then it should be put into processing. You can not store frozen pumpkin.

The timing of the harvest depends on the weather forecast and the geographic region of the country. If in the Crimea it is possible to postpone the harvesting of fruits until October, then in the conditions of the Moscow region and Siberia, the pumpkin is harvested already in early autumn. When choosing dates, weather conditions remain an important point. If frosts are approaching, then you need to hurry with cleaning. Filmed later decorative varieties pumpkins that are not used for food.

How to determine the ripeness of a pumpkin

Any vegetable, regardless of variety and precocity, has external signs by which you can determine the moment of maturity. Knowing these subtleties, any summer resident will start harvesting in time, which will save most of it.

1. Having carefully looked at the petiole, you can find that it has become hard, has lost its juiciness.

2. Ripe pumpkin turns orange or yellowish. Its edges are clearly visible.

3. The degree of maturity can be checked with a fingernail. If the peel of the fruit is difficult to damage, then it is ripe enough.

4. At the end of the growing season, the lashes and foliage of the plant die off.

5. A ripe pumpkin is covered with a matte coating and rings with a light cotton.

If the crop corresponds to the characteristic features described above, then the pumpkin is removed from the garden, so it will be better preserved, will not lose its useful properties.

Fruits that are not yet fully ripe should be sent for ripening in dry room. It is impossible to store fruits with an unformed peel. It is better to cook delicious homemade preserves from them.

Proper pumpkin care before harvesting

Regardless of which variety is grown in the garden, it is necessary to protect the fruit from spoilage and rot before harvest.

In wet weather, when the fruits lie in contact with the ground, the peel rots. Inexperienced summer residents are trying to put the vegetable into processing. But this cannot be done. The fact is that changes occur in the pulp, and the use of such a fruit leads to poisoning.

To preserve the harvest, pumpkins are placed on a mound, boards are pushed under them. AT rainy weather you need to cover the fruit with a film. AT last month before harvesting, stop watering the beds.

How to properly remove a pumpkin from the garden

Undoubtedly, the most nutritious and useful is the vegetable that has ripened right on the whip. But if the weather conditions get worse, then the cleaning is carried out immediately. The pumpkins will ripen indoors.

For harvesting, you need to choose a dry, fine day. In rainy autumn, after harvesting, the fruits are dried in a ventilated room. Cut pumpkins very carefully so that they do not fall and the bark is not damaged. Those fruits that will be stored for storage are cut with a stalk, the height of which is up to 5 cm.

After harvesting, the crop is sorted. Fruits with cracks and spoiled peel are eaten first or allowed for processing. The fact is that microbes penetrate through the cracks, which lead to damage to the pulp: it becomes moldy and rots.

The sorted crop is dried, the remnants of the earth and dry foliage are removed. After that, it is placed for ripening in a dry covered storage, where the temperature is maintained up to 30 degrees. Under such conditions, the peel of the fruit gradually hardens. The ripening of the crop is carried out up to 10 days to a month.

How and where to store pumpkin

After ripening, the crop is sorted again, rejecting fruits with a soft peel. Next, the pumpkins are stored.

Important! Fruits with a diameter of at least 15 cm are stored the longest.

For long-term storage of pumpkins, a dry room is chosen, where the air temperature is maintained within 10-13 degrees and good ventilation is equipped. Directly in the storage, vegetables are laid out in one layer, preventing their contact with moisture. It is better if racks with shelves are used to store the pumpkin, as in the photo. The distance from the floor to the first shelf should be at least 15 cm. With such storage, the crop will be well ventilated from all sides, which will ensure its safety.

good storage should be reliably protected from rodents and fungal infections. It is important that during storage of the crop, condensation does not form on the fruits.

AT winter months the pumpkin is periodically checked, fruits with a softened peel are rejected. This indicates that the pumpkin has begun to deteriorate.

Shelf life of pumpkin crop

Growing various varieties pumpkin, you can constantly eat it and replenish the body with essential vitamins. To preserve the crop, it is important to know not only the storage conditions, but also the timing.

The crop of early varieties of pumpkin is stored least of all: Almond 35, Freckle, Gribovskaya bush. These fruits should be eaten first. The keeping quality of such varieties is not more than a month. Further, the pulp loses its taste, and the seeds begin to germinate inside the fruit.

Medium and late nutmeg pumpkin varieties are well stored all winter, without loss of taste: Pearl, Muscat, Vitamin, Smile, Crumb. The average keeping quality of fruits reaches 5-6 months, after which the pulp loses its properties and becomes fibrous, tasteless.

Summing up

It is necessary to properly clean the pumpkin from the garden, taking into account not only the growing time, specifications fruit, but also weather conditions. In each specific region, the time for cleaning is adjusted according to these indicators.

Autumn is the time to sum up the results of spring-summer work and harvest. Pumpkin, as an unpretentious and rather cold-resistant culture, is one of the last to be stored. But when is the right time to do it? Since at the disposal of gardeners today there are more than a dozen varieties of pumpkins with different characteristics and ripening periods, the time for harvesting vegetables largely depends on their early maturity, as well as on the weather and climatic features of the region. When to remove the earliest varieties from the garden, and how long do late-ripening fruits stay in the garden?

Ripening dates for different types of pumpkin

Among the varieties common in Russian garden beds, hard-skinned pumpkins are distinguished by early ripeness. Despite the fact that their collection begins 90–120 days after germination, the pulp of such varieties is not too rich in carotene, sugars and is quite fibrous. But the seeds of hard-skinned pumpkins, covered with a thin peel or without it at all, are the most delicious and healthy.

I start harvesting such pumpkins in the second half of August, and in September, hard-skinned fruits, even in cold summers, should be fully harvested. This kind of fruit is not stored for a long time, if the pumpkin is overexposed and cut after 5-6 months, sprouted seeds and loose, quality-losing pulp will be found under the bark.

The moment when it is time to remove the pumpkin from the garden can be determined by the stiffening of the petiole, compaction, hardening of the bark and a change in its color.

Mid-season varieties, which include most large-fruited pumpkins that require time to gain weight and size, ripen in 110–130 days. Such fruits are tasty, their pulp is saturated with vitamin A, rich in microelements and perfectly accumulates sugar. In addition, these are leaders in keeping quality, but ensure long-term storage it is possible only by cutting the pumpkin from the whip in time.

If the bark has not yet acquired the proper hardness or has been damaged by frost, the pumpkin will have to be processed.

Therefore, it is so important to remove pumpkins from the garden before the first cold weather, which in the Moscow region or in the Urals can begin as early as mid-September. If necessary, the fruits are left to ripen in a warm, dry room before being sent for storage for 14–30 days.

The sweetest, fragrant pumpkins ripen later than all, which include nutmeg varieties. It takes 130 to 150 days for the fruit to reach full maturity, so, like the large-fruited variety, these pumpkins are harvested before the frost season.

Only in the conditions of the south of the country, starting from the Rostov region and up to the Crimea, when pumpkins of late ripening varieties are harvested, they ripen on a whip. In other regions, they have to ripen from 1 to 2 months. At the same time, ripe fruits remain tasty and healthy for no longer than 4–5 months, so it is better to eat them without delay.

How do you know that the pumpkin is ripe, will be tasty and will endure several winter months without any problems?

Signs of ripe pumpkin

Regardless of the type and early maturity of the pumpkin, its fruits have common signs of ripening:

• First of all, the pumpkin stalk becomes hard, loses its juiciness and takes on the appearance of wood or cork.
• The bark of pumpkins in most varieties and varieties changes color. Shades of green are replaced by yellow and orange tones, the pattern becomes clear.
• The bark thickens and is difficult to damage with a fingernail.
• The lashes and foliage of the plant wither, turn yellow and die.

If pumpkins with characteristic signs of ripening are removed from the garden, the fruits are well stored, their pulp does not lose moisture and taste for a long time.

It is better to pre-ripen pumpkins that are not fully ripe until the fruit is completely protected from exposure. external environment. But it is better not to store ovaries with unformed bark, but immediately process them into juice, homemade canned food or culinary dishes.

It is important to remember that not all varieties change color by autumn. A similar exception can be considered a wax gourd, varieties with gray and white bark. The shade of pumpkins of the “butternut” type changes slightly.

When a pumpkin is harvested for storage, these signs can be considered a selection criterion and a guarantee that the fruits will not dry out or rot.

How and when to remove a pumpkin from the garden?

the tastiest and healthy pulp in pumpkins fully ripened in the garden and up to last day absorbing sunlight and nutrients from the soil. But climatic and weather conditions do not always allow this to be achieved. Therefore, when the pumpkin is already being harvested in the Urals, in the Stavropol region, culture can remain in the beds for at least a month.

The further north, the more often gardeners have to plant in their beds early maturing varieties and to determine the timing of the collection, use not the tips of the plant, but the forecast of meteorologists. For example, in the middle lane, pumpkins are removed from the lashes in mid-September, but in southern regions they can be in the field until the lashes are completely dry.

Whatever time the harvest takes place, it is important that the weather on the day when the pumpkins are harvested is dry and warm enough. If the fruits lying on the ground fall under a serious frost, despite the dense bark, the vegetable suffers, and may rot during storage.

Fruit picking is carried out as carefully as possible, carefully treating each pumpkin. It is important not only not to cut the bark, but also not to let the gourds fall.

After all, even through microscopic cracks in the bark, microorganisms and bacteria easily penetrate, leading to the development of mold and rot inside the fruit. In addition, upon impact, the structure of the pulp changes, the juice begins to flow, which also leads to rapid damage to the crop.

When pumpkins are removed from the beds, it is better not to try to pick or unscrew them from the lash, but cut them with a sharp knife, leaving a stalk 5 to 10 cm long.

If the pumpkin is without a “tail”, it loses the natural protection of the pulp in the attachment zone, which will inevitably be used by putrefactive bacteria and fungi. Therefore, when carrying and loading pumpkins, it is better not to take the handle, no matter how convenient and strong it may look. This rule is especially true when growing full-weight large-fruited pumpkins, juicy varieties intended for juice production and sweet dessert varieties. Their damage will be the fastest.

After cutting from the whip, the pumpkins are dried, carefully removing the remnants of soil and dry vegetation on the bark. Then the fruits for a period of 10 to 30 days are placed in real covered storages, where the temperature reaches 27–29 ° C. With humidity up to 85% under such conditions, pumpkins actively ripen, and their peel hardens.

Having learned that the pumpkins are ripe and ready for long-term storage, clean whole fruits are selected, without signs of mechanical damage and signs of disease.

When selecting pumpkins of table varieties for the winter, their sizes are also taken into account. It is believed that pumpkins no less than 12-15 cm in diameter will be able to withstand many months in the basement.

When storing pumpkins, they choose a dry, cool room, with a temperature of 10–13 ° C and constant ventilation. In the storage, the fruits are carefully laid out on racks or pallets, avoiding crowding and contact of the pumpkin with damp surfaces. Best if:

• the crop is placed in one layer above the ground level by at least 10–15 cm;
• pumpkins do not touch or come into contact with other vegetables and fruits;
• storage is protected from rodents;
• there is no condensation and fungal infection in the room.

It is especially important not to place the pumpkin in close proximity to apples, pears, quince. These fruits release ethylene, which accelerates the ripening of fruits and reduces the shelf life of pumpkins. In the winter months, while the crop is not used for food, it is periodically reviewed, discarding damaged or softened fruits.

How to store a pumpkin - video

When to remove a pumpkin from the garden in different regions of Russia

Harvest time is always associated with autumn, when the plants complete their growing season and the ripe fruits are ready to be sent to storage. Pumpkins are no exception. This hardy and very healthy vegetable finds a place in plots in various parts of the country, and with the onset of cool days, it's time for the summer resident to think about the moment when the pumpkin will be removed from the garden.

Since gardeners are far from being in equal conditions in a country that is spread over several climatic zones at once, and the weather does not remain constant from year to year, even a summer resident with experience may find it difficult and not give a specific harvest date in advance. prompt right time maybe the pumpkin. If you carefully monitor the development of the plant, knowing the timing when the pumpkin of a particular variety ripens, you can quite accurately choose the time to pick the fruit. And here it is important, listening to the data of meteorologists, not to miss the onset of cold weather.

So, how to calculate the timing of pumpkin harvesting, and what criteria should a gardener follow when determining the ripeness of grown fruits?

When does the pumpkin ripen in the beds?

If a fully ripe, ready-to-storage pumpkin is removed from the garden, you don’t have to worry that after a while the fruit will be covered with mold, or rot will develop under the softened skin.

Therefore, fruits are left for the winter, in which:

• the peduncle dried up and became like wood;
• the bark is hardened and does not lend itself to mechanical stress.

A sign that the pumpkin has ripened on the bush can be considered:

• change in surface color from green to orange or, like butternut squash, cream;
• yellowing and dying off of the green part of the plant, which means the end of the growing season.

When pumpkins are harvested ripe from the garden, it is important not to overexpose the fruits, because on the ground they are threatened by pests, rodents, and extra days in the sun are not in the best way affect the quality of the pulp.

However, most gardeners in our country have to remove pumpkins from the garden that have not yet reached full ripeness. After all, the further north a particular region is, the shorter the summer. And even the most early-ripening varieties, for example, in the Urals and Siberia, sometimes only begin to form a hard bark before the cold weather.

If a plucked pumpkin is suspicious, its peel is soft and easily damaged by a fingernail, the stalk is green and juicy, it is better not to waste energy on ripening, but to make delicious homemade preparations for the winter from fresh fruit.

Pumpkin readiness for harvesting and its timing depending on the type and variety

Is there really no way to insure and speed up the ripening of fruits? Today, summer residents have at their disposal several dozen fruitful, tasty and very different in shape, color and weight varieties of pumpkin. All of them are conditionally divided into early, mid-season and late.

Choosing early-ripening varieties for planting, gardeners can bring the moment when to harvest pumpkins in Siberia, the Urals or Northwest region will have to do not because of the arrival of frosts, but due to the ripening of the crop.

Early ripe varieties of pumpkins are harvested from 90 to 120 days after the start of the growing season of the plant. And although such pumpkins do not always accumulate enough sugar, and their flesh is not as rich in carotene as in later varieties, with proper care and selection of varieties, the gardener receives a quality crop for winter consumption.

Most mid-season varieties please summer residents with large fruits that ripen 110–130 days after germination. But the sweetest pumpkins of late varieties make you wait even longer for their readiness - up to 150-160 days. Obviously, far from all regions of Russia, pumpkins are removed from the garden five months after planting.

Only in the Stavropol Territory, the North Caucasus, in the Crimea and other areas with warm long summers do late-ripening varieties ripen in the bud.

And the rest of the gardeners, in order to accelerate growth, have to plant pumpkin seedlings and during long period ripen fruits. Otherwise, a situation cannot be avoided when pumpkins not harvested from the garden fall under the first frosts, even in the Moscow region already in mid-September.

When are pumpkins harvested from vegetable gardens in different parts of Russia?

Summer residents who grow pumpkins in different climatic conditions, in order to obtain a plentiful and high-quality harvest, must full responsibility relate to the choice of varieties for your garden, and also do not neglect the weather forecasts. After all, the gardener can be threatened not only with disappointment from a pumpkin that started only by autumn, but also with the fact that large fruits fell under frost and were hopelessly spoiled.

The further north the summer resident lives, the more reasonable:

• choose early and mid-season varieties;
• for planting, use the method with a closed root system;
• protect young plants until the time of spring frosts has passed.

These measures allow you to improve the quality of pumpkins at the time when the weather will force you to remove pumpkins from the garden.

When is the Moscow region pumpkin harvested?

In the metropolitan area, as in most areas middle lane, early-ripening pumpkin varieties ripen in the beds and are cut in the second half of August or early September. Next, by the middle of the month, the time comes when the pumpkins of mid-ripening, the most valuable varieties for winter storage, ripen.

Only late-ripening, sweet nutmeg pumpkins in the Moscow region are harvested before the arrival of autumn cold weather, which threatens to damage the delicious fruits.

Such pumpkins are either planted as seedlings, or left to ripen, during which the fruit becomes fragrant and gains the proper sweetness. If the weather deteriorates irrevocably, pumpkins reach home, but in sunny warm days fruits are best laid out in the air.

When are pumpkins harvested in the Urals?

The Ural region is suitable for growing a wide variety of vegetable crops, including all varieties of pumpkin. The beginning of fruit ripening occurs in September, when the weather still allows you not to be afraid of fruit damage by frost. Therefore, you can harvest a pumpkin in the Urals, focusing on the degree of maturity. But do not neglect the advice of the meteorological service.

The main danger of autumn in this region is night temperature drops and warm days. Under such conditions, condensate forms on the pumpkins, threatening fruit rotting and the development of fungal infections.

When are pumpkins harvested in Siberia?

Siberia is a whole huge country, in different parts of which the timing of pumpkin harvesting and the risks associated with its cultivation vary greatly. It is still better for Siberian gardeners to focus on weather conditions and to insure the selection of early varieties. Most often for local conditions recommend pumpkin varieties that ripen in 90–100 days. In this case, without fear of being left without a harvest, pumpkins in Siberia are harvested 2-4 weeks before the time when the fruits ripen.

It is possible to ripen the crop to full readiness, depending on the variety, from 10 to 60 days. The process takes place at room temperature in fairly dry air.

Only for residents of the south of Russia, when harvesting pumpkins, the ripening periods of fruits have crucial for all varieties of crops, ranging from early ripening, ending with nutmeg, ripening the latest.

For storage, only healthy, formed pumpkins are chosen, without traces of damage by pests and diseases, mechanical damage and impact marks.

When is the pumpkin harvest time?

• they are cut from the whip, leaving a stalk 4 to 10 cm long, and having lost the cutting, the fruit is quickly affected by bacteria and deteriorates;
• the fruits harvested from the garden are dried under a canopy in the air, and then, if necessary, sent to ripen.

Ripened, ready for long-term storage, the crop will be a good help in winter, because it is tasty and healthy pumpkin- this is an excellent side dish, and a component of home baking, and fragrant delicacies loved by all households.

Video about pumpkin

When and how pumpkin is harvested, types and varieties of pumpkin

When and how to harvest a pumpkin

Pumpkins are harvested dry, before the first frost. If you're doing this in the rain, don't forget

Dry vegetables.

In the middle it is desirable to lie down b for the strip they usually harvest in September, and in the south - when

Complete death of leaves.

Late-ripening nutmeg pumpkin, varieties harvesting dates

Late ripe butternut squash with very tasty pulp, brightly colored, fragrant and contains

Carotene. Widespread in the southern regions of Russia. But if it is grown through seedlings with sowing on April 20-25 and planting in the ground in the first ten days of June, then in the Moscow region this pumpkin grows well, ripens and is stored for a long time. It is necessary to remove it, like large-fruited, before the first frost.

Seeds should not be used for food. Unlike other species, they are very small, have

Rigid and hard shell, and they are usually few.

Butternut squash fruits predominantly cylindrical shape, oval, rarely rounded, and

Peduncle - thin, elongated, five-sided. The bark of the fruit is most often green with intermittent stripes or light beige in autumn. Pumpkins grown in the Moscow region need to ripen for at least 2 months.

Long term storage(more than 5-6 months) may lead to a loss of taste, but on appearance fetus is practically not reflected.

Immediately after cleaning the flesh has a pale shade (beige or light orange) with a slight

Muscat aroma and fresh taste. During storage, the nutmeg flavor increases and the sugar content increases. The pulp of a ripe pumpkin contains a lot of carotene, it is tasty and healthy, edible raw.

It is not recommended to store more than 5-6 months, since the pulp breaks up into fibers, loses its valuable taste, but it is quite possible to put the pumpkin into processing.

The most popular varieties: Muscat, Pearl, Interception, Vita, Vitamin, Testi Delife,

Father Ponca.
Maria Dolzhenko

Everyone for a pumpkin. 21.by

The timing of pumpkin harvesting depends on many factors. Climatic features, unpredictable weather and the nuances of the varieties themselves leave their mark. Large-fruited, nutmeg, hard-barked and other types of pumpkins mean individual approach which is important to consider. Some varieties are more capricious, some are hardy. Since pumpkins sometimes lack the summer season to ripen, they often have to be harvested unripe and ripened themselves, which complicates the harvesting process. However, with careful handling of the fruits and their proper storage, all the vagaries of pumpkins are easily overcome. We will talk further about how to understand that the pumpkins are ripe, and it's time to move on to harvesting the fruits.

When harvesting a pumpkin, you should first of all rely on its variety. Of course, all pumpkins, without exception, should be harvested before the first night frosts, but the collection time can vary significantly. The difference between some early-ripening and late-ripening varieties in the ripening period reaches one hundred days.

With special care, you need to approach the collection of late-ripening pumpkins, whose harvest often coincides with a sharp cold snap. sub-zero temperatures if the vegetable is not destroyed, then many of its taste qualities, so valued by many gardeners, will be taken away. Consider the main types of pumpkin, depending on the timing of its ripening in the table.

Table 1. Pumpkin types

Signs of a mature pumpkin

Regardless of belonging to a particular variety, the degree of maturity of a pumpkin is recognized by universal signs. If you're not sure you can recognize a mature vegetable, dig up one pumpkin first and examine it carefully. When inspecting, be guided by the following details:

In addition to all the above signs, it is useful to focus on more specific ripening dates declared for specific varieties. Of course, it does not happen year after year, and if the summer is very warm or very cold, the moment of ripening will inevitably shift, but knowing the approximate time values ​​allows you to prepare in advance for harvesting.

Pumpkin ripening in different climatic conditions

Everyone experienced gardener when growing certain plants, he relies on the climate in his area and knows what to expect from each season. For example, late-ripening pumpkins are completely unsuitable for those regions in which the cold sets in sharply, and the gardener risks simply not waiting for the full ripening of the vegetable or not having time to extract it in time.

Regions with short and/or cold summers

Those gardeners who are unlucky with warm summer season, it is advised to focus on early ripe pumpkin varieties. As already mentioned, they will need about three months to ripen. By planting an early-ripening pumpkin, you can be sure that at the end of August you will have time to harvest a full-fledged crop. Keeping such a pumpkin in the ground is not only pointless, but also dangerous. A stagnant vegetable will become loose and fibrous.

Early ripe varieties do not have outstanding palatability and are meant to be consumed quickly. Their flesh is not so rich useful substances, like the pulp of later variations of the vegetable. But such pumpkins have their own advantages - they are grown for tasty and healthy seeds.

Regions with a temperate summer climate

Most gardeners in the middle lane are guided by mid-ripening pumpkin varieties, as a kind of compromise. Therefore, if the positive temperature does not hold on your site until the end of October, but the climate is gentle enough to allow you to keep vegetables until mid-September, a mid-ripening pumpkin is optimal choice. Four months after planting, mid-season varieties are ready for harvest.

Unlike early-ripening pumpkin, mid-ripening pulp is more palatable and can be safely used in cooking. Mid-season varieties have a whole vitamin set, since they contain:

• Carotene;
• Macro- and microelements;
• Vitamins of group C;
• B group vitamins.

Among mid-season pumpkins, attention should be paid to large-fruited varieties that can be stored in cellars for several months. However long storage such vegetables is possible only on the condition that you managed to remove them before the first frost. Otherwise, the shelf life of a mid-season variety is significantly shortened.

The most suitable time for harvesting mid-season pumpkins is the end of September. Harvesting is carried out regardless of whether all the fruits have reached maturity. Those pumpkins that still need time are sent to the cellars for ripening. For the final ripening of the fruits, a dry and warm room is suitable.

Regions with long warm summers

Late-ripening pumpkins can afford only the southern regions, which are not afraid of cold autumn. Of all late-ripening varieties, it is recommended to choose nutmeg, as they are the most tasty and healthy. Muscat pumpkins are whimsical to care for and incredibly thermophilic, but careful care of them is worth the result.

Butternut squash take more than four and a half months to mature, so some specimens may be harvested in early November. With long storage in the cellar (more than five months), the pumpkin pulp breaks up into fibers and loses its taste.

With great desire northern regions they can also try to cope with fragile late-ripening pumpkins, but you should prepare in advance for the need to ripen them yourself for a couple of months. Immediately after maturation artificial conditions, pumpkin should be quickly eaten or processed.

For the pumpkin to give good harvest regardless of climatic conditions, it must be looked after throughout the growing season. About the basics of proper handling of pumpkins and proper feeding fruits, see below.

Apart from climatic conditions, the timing of the pumpkin harvest is affected by the condition of the soil in autumn period. The more it is saturated with useful trace elements, the faster vegetables are formed inside it and the better they are as a result. You can read more about it on our portal.

Harvest pumpkin

For gardeners living in the southern regions, harvesting a pumpkin crop is easier, since pumpkins have time to ripen directly on the plant. In colder regions, gardeners have to harvest pumpkins before they reach maturity and put extra effort into caring for the vegetables. In both cases, it is necessary to correctly remove the pumpkin from the soil, avoiding damage and other unpleasant consequences.

To maximize fruit shelf life, follow these guidelines:

1. Ideal weather conditions for harvesting there will be no precipitation and high (for autumn) air temperature;
2. Moving the pumpkin must be done very carefully. Although mature vegetables have very hard barks, if they fall to the ground and other rough handling scenarios, pumpkins will be damaged and will last much less. The tender flesh is prone to deformation and rapid decay. In addition, pathogenic bacteria easily penetrate the scratches, after which the vegetable can only be disposed of;

   

3. When separating the pumpkin from the loop, you must use a knife or secateurs. Attempts to pull out the loop with bare hands are unacceptable, as they can injure both the fetus and the hands. If you open the gourd when you open the loop, it will soon rot;
4. When processing a pumpkin, you need to leave a stalk with a length of at least five centimeters. At the same time, the stalk should in no case be perceived as a convenient “handle” with which you can carry the pumpkin. If the cutting comes off, you will get a spoiled fruit. The heavier the gourd, the more likely it is that the stalk will come off;

   

5. Even if unripe fruits are found, it is necessary to harvest the entire crop at the same time. It is unacceptable to leave single immature specimens in the garden;
6. Cleaning of fruits from the ground and vegetation residues is carried out after the vegetables have dried. After washing the vegetables, they are distributed on the basis of maturity. Those that have ripened are sorted depending on the goals of the gardener, those that have not had time to ripen are sent for ripening. It can take from a week to a couple of months to ripen, depending on the pumpkin variety and its growing conditions;

   

7. In the process of sorting mature pumpkins, the grower selects infected, damaged and too small, then discards them. Healthy fruits (if desired) are sent for long-term storage, and rejected ones are immediately processed.

Video - Features of pumpkin harvesting

pumpkin storage

Subject to proper conditions, a pumpkin can be successfully kept not only in cellars, but also on the balconies of apartments or even in refrigerators. Of course, apartment conditions are less suitable for laying out a pumpkin, if only because of its impressive dimensions. General terms that allow the pumpkin to retain its vitamins and rich taste are as follows:

Packing the chopped pumpkin

When using pumpkin for culinary purposes, the question of how to store an opened pumpkin is acute. The refrigerator will help save the cut fruit from quickly becoming unusable. Before moving the pulp into it, it must be wrapped in cling film removing as much air as possible. In the film, the pulp is stored for up to two weeks. When using foil, the shelf life is increased to one month, but the wrapper must be changed periodically.